


Back to Back | Heart to Heart

by peggywrites



Category: Lupin III
Genre: Angst, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Kinda, M/M, Pining, Swearing, Talking about your feelings, Torture, Unrequited Love, jigen gets the hell beat out of him, obligatory nameless villain, physical violense
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-04
Updated: 2020-03-04
Packaged: 2021-03-01 01:14:25
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,990
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23016844
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/peggywrites/pseuds/peggywrites
Summary: “Look,” Fujiko sighed, tilting her head up. “If I were you, I’d probably hate me too.”There were long, labored breathes from the beaten man behind her before she heard him speak. “I don’t ... I don’t hate you.”
Relationships: Jigen Daisuke/Arsène Lupin III, Jigen Daisuke/Mine Fujiko
Comments: 6
Kudos: 116





	Back to Back | Heart to Heart

  
When Fujiko’s eyes flickered open, the first thing she did was rub behind her ear by lifting her shoulder. She could still feel the sore spot where a sharp needle has pierced her skin. The woman glanced down. As far as being kidnapped went for her, at least she was still in her cocktail dress, even if the ropes that kept her hands behind the chair were uncomfortable. Her ankles were tied together too, but thankfully not to the chair.

Since this wasn’t her first kidnapping, Fujiko’s first thought was to immediately take in her surroundings. She surveyed the room as far as she could turn her head. It was actually a nice-looking room. Expensive too. Her chair was on some kind of fur rug, though she couldn’t tell what kind. She couldn’t see any windows, but there was a singular, lovely carved wooden door in front of her. Surprisingly, when Fujiko tilted her head to look up at the ceiling, the back of her head knocked into a hard surface.

More surprisingly, the surface snapped back.

“Ow! Jesus!” groaned a very annoyed, very groggy voice.

“Jigen?” Fujiko blinked in surprise, wincing at the bit of stinging on the back of her skull. “They got you too?”

“Yeah,” She felt Jigen shake his head behind her, no doubt trying to clear the drugs clouding his mind. “Apparently mob bosses aren’t too thrilled when you rob their casinos.”

Fujiko sighed. The heist had been going so well too. Fujiko was distracting the goons, Jigen was undercover as a croupier, and Goemon and Lupin were sneaking their way into the vault. It only started going downhill when Lupin decided to get all showy with his grand exist, something the woman was never really one for. Jigen had to get out of his disguise and start shooting and she had to start kicking men over tables as a result.

She just didn’t realize that when something sharp was jabbed into her neck, that the same thing had happened to Jigen.

“Do you think Lupin knows we’re here?” She asked, turning her head a bit to see him. 

“If he saw us get taken, he would’ve been here before we woke up.” He shrugged in his chair. The motion didn’t move hers, which meant that their chairs weren’t tied together. Good to know. That might help. “But we were all supposed to get in the car, so he must know something’s up. He’s not that stupid.”

“Right.” Fujiko turned back. She had her own plans to ditch the boys as soon as they got far enough away with more than her fair share, but that didn’t look very possible now. “Well, where do you think we are?”

“It’s too nice to be a jail or a warehouse. From the looks of it, I’d say we’re in like a side room or something. Most likely the boss’ house?” 

“Oh, great. So we’re the this guy’s houseguests!” Fujiko said sarcastically.

“Yeah well, I’d say it couldn't be worse, but I **_am_ **stuck here with you.”

“ _Really?_ You’re going to do this now?”

“I’m just saying if I hadn’t attempted to save your ass, I wouldn’t be in this mess.”

“I didn’t ask for your help! I can take care of myself!”

“Yeah! That’s _all_ you know how to do, isn’t it? Take care of yourself? You don’t care about anyone else. You have no sense of loyalty!”

“ ** _EXCUSE ME?!_** I cannot believe you! This is **NOT** what we’re talking about right now!” 

“Why not? Seems like a good enough time to bring up the fact that you’ve always been a -“

The door in front of Fujiko slammed open and the two thieves shut up immediately. Even though Jigen couldn’t see the giant male figures in the doorway, Fujiko guessed he knew the situation well enough to be quiet.

Two men entered, one burly and large, and the other a bit shorter but still somewhat muscular. The shorter one was wearing jeweled rings on his hands and a very expensive cashmere suit. Fujiko knew just from heist prep that it was the owner of the casino and his trusted guard. 

“So glad you two are awake.” Said the boss, closing the door behind him. “Apologizes for the rough treatment, but there was no other way to get you two here.”

“Ya could’ve asked nicely.” Called Jigen from behind her. 

“Unfortunately, we only extend kind invitations to kind people. You two, however, broke into my casino and stole my money.” The boss loomed forward, placing his jeweled hands behind his back. He spoke in an almost sweet manner. “But I _can_ be persuaded to let you two go if you agree to … simply tell me where Lupin took the money so I can get it back.”

“That casino makes so much a day.” Fujiko pointed out, trying to match the sweetness of the owner’s voice. “It won’t take you long to earn it back.”

“Yes, but there is my reputation to think of.” And with a snap of his fingers, the guard to his side walked around Fujiko and over to Jigen. “Would you mind helping that gentleman up please?”

There was a pained grunt from the goon as Fujiko caught movement from the corner of her eye. Jigen laughed, but was soon silenced by a horrible sounding _thud_ that sent his face right into her field of vision. She rolled her eyes. The smartass has kneed the guard in the face, and got socked in the jaw as a result.

The next second, Jigen was lifted from the chair and dragged in front of Fujiko where he was punched again, sending him sprawling on the floor. 

“I sure hope you don’t mind ruining your rug.” Fujiko said snootily, keeping the nervousness of her voice down as she watch blood trickle from Jigen’s nose. 

“I can always buy a new rug.” Stated the boss, hands kept neatly behind his back. “But I think you should worry about us ruining your friend. Unless you tell us where Lupin took my money.”

Before Fujiko could respond, Jigen spoke up. “Not her friend. And I ain’t telling you shit!” The woman blinked as she watched the gunman’s hands and ankles suddenly become free of their bonds. The boys were always better at getting out of ropes than she was. Jigen leaped forward, both hands aiming for the guard’s gun.

But the goon stepped back, grabbing the material of Jigen’s jacket and shoving him down onto his knee. Fujiko kept down a wince as she watched Jigen get the wind knocked out of him. The man clutched his stomach and fell to the floor, wheezing horribly as he did so.

“Well, everyone here just needs a little bit of persuasion, don’t they?” The boss gave Fujiko a quick glance, then nodded at the large man.

The goon kicked Jigen off his side and onto his back, before the gunman could recover his breath the foot came down directly onto his chest.

“Aagh!” Jigen’s body curled along with his expression. Fujiko watched with the best poker face should could muster as he tried to push the larger man’s hand off him. “Y - you know, this isn’t very p- persuasive.” Jigen grunted, turning his head towards the boss. “You’re just being an asshole.” The comment made to goon slam his foot into Jigen’s knee, making the man scream out a curse into the air.

“Lupin the Third broke into my casino and broke into **MY** vault.” Said the mob boss. “All I want to know is where you took the money so I can get it back.”

“ _Why do_ ... why do you care?” Jigen gasped, turning onto his stomach in an attempt to push himself up with his free hands. “You have plenty of money.”

“Yes, but if it gets out I was robbed I’ll have my ears chewed off by my peers.”

“Good,” A cheeky smile to rival Lupin’s appeared on Jigen’s face. “That might make ya look prettier.” After a snap from the boss, the goon grabbed Jigen by the collar and began to repeatedly hit his face over and over again.

Fujiko sighed, closing her eyes to look away from the scene as soon as the smile disappeared from Jigen’s face. Men had no idea how to handle situations like this. It was all about who was the toughest with them. 

“Ms. Mine?” She opens her eyes to see the mob boss standing in front of her. With a sly tilt of her head, Fujiko raised her brow at him. 

“Yes?”

“I hope you realize the situation you and your friend are in.”

“Again, not friends.” Fujiko stated. Hopefully, if the man thought they didn’t care about each other, _which, they totally didn’t,_ he might stop with Jigen and hopefully never start with her.

“Right. However, I need to know where my money is and you are going to need to tell me.”

“Why should I? So you can stop getting blood all over your fancy carpet? It’s hardly my fault Jigen bleeds so much.” Fujiko huffed, turning her nose in the air as she often did. “And you’re really starting to sound like a broken record. It’s starting to get annoying.”

The boss groaned unhappily, turning his attention back to Jigen. Fujiko bit the inside of her cheek upon seeing the man practically hanging like a rag doll within the grasp of the goon. His breathing was raggedy, and though she couldn’t see his eyes under his hat, she doubted they were hardly open at all.

At the wave from the boss, Jigen was dropped to the floor in a heap.

“ _Ah - haaah_ , **_shit_**.” Jigen hissed, his shoulders heaving up down. He placed his hands beneath him again, looking like he was trying to pick himself up, but couldn’t make it an inch off the ground.

“Have you had enough, Mr. Jigen?” The boss asked with a tilt of his head. “Do you care to talk now?”

It took quite a few moments for Jigen to catch his breath and even longer before he said anything. He kept his face down towards to floor, blood pouring from his nose, lip and eyebrow. “ _Go fu — g o fu_ ...” Jigen sucked in a wheezing gasp of air, and eventually all he could do was lift a shaking hand to give both men the middle finger.

The goon reached down again, grabbing the top of Jigen’s head in attempt to pull him back up, but the only thing he managed to grab was Jigen’s hat.

“ _Hey_ ... **_hey_**.” Jigen’s tired voice came out a bit more clearly as he glanced up, lifting up a limp hand. “That’s mine, you give that ba - _ah_.” He winced, and the two men above him just stared down. Fujiko watched nervously as Jigen’s eyes suddenly narrowed at the sight of the goon’s hand on his hat. With strength that Fujiko didn’t know he still had in him, Jigen pushed himself off the ground with his hands and lunged at the guard. “I said _that’s mine! Give it ba_ -“ 

He was met with a swift punch to the temple, sending him colliding with the floor below. Fujiko couldn’t hold in the gasp she made from her throat as she watched the gunman go down. And by the looks of it, he wasn’t getting back up.

“Alright, well. I’d say that’s progress.” Sighed the boss, giving his guard a gesture. “I’m going to give you two some time to reflect. If you don’t tell me where my money is when we come back, we kill him. And if he doesn’t wake up from his? We kill you. Sound fair?” He smiled, placing his hands out to the sides in some showman’s gesture.

He was only met with Fujiko’s glare. 

The goon picked up the slack Jigen from the floor after placing the hat back onto his head. He dragged the lean man back over to the chair and tied his hands behind his back once more. Fujiko could feel Jigen slump forward, but the goon made no sign of trying to fix his posture.

“Right, then we’ll see you in a few hours.” said the boss, and he closed the door behind him and his guard.

Fujiko waiting until the dual footsteps had faded before she turned her head as far as she could. “Jigen?” She whispered harshly, trying to get the slumped man to wake up. “Jigen, hey!” 

But he didn’t respond. For a moment, Fujiko wondered if she should just yell and tell the mob boss where Lupin’s hideout was. But there was just so much money! She couldn’t let all of that go.

Plus, it’s not like she wanted Lupin to get hurt either.

She paused. Thinking the order of that thought process over again. Lupin had come second to money.

Maybe Jigen was right about her and loyalty?

No! No, of course he wasn’t right. She’d never admit that. Fujiko Mine was just a woman who knew what she wanted. Plus, Lupin was a man who could take care of himself, no matter what the odds.

The same couldn’t be said for the blacked-out man beside her.

It may have been half an hour or so while she thought of an escape plan when there was a pained groan from behind her. Soon the soft, quiet breathing from the other began to turn more labored and uncomfortable as consciousness seeped back into him. 

“ _Nnngh_ , God. _Shit_.” Jigen grunted, shifting in the chair as he tried to sit up.

“You alright?”

“ _Can’t see_ ... can’t see _shit_ out of my left eye. Asshole ... hit it shut. ... swollen _._ ” Jigen answers between gasps. “Hard to ... breathe too.”

“Try not to be loud. They’re waiting until when you’re awake to come back and kill you unless we tell him where the money is.”

“Don’t tell them.”

“I won’t."

“Good. Last thing we need is ... is you ... making us lose the ... _shit_. _Damn it_."

Fujiko hummed, a bit annoyed. He was too stubborn for his own good, even after getting beat to all hell. There was a pause as the two said in relative silence. Jigen’s labored breathing did not sound good, and for a moment Fujiko worried if he had a collapsed lung or something. 

“Lupin isn’t coming anytime soon, huh?” Fujiko sighed. “You don’t have any kind of tracking device on you?” She took Jigen’s silence for a no. “That’s alright. We can still find a way out of this. I can get my feet on the floor. When they come back, I’ll lift up and knock my chair into the goon, you take his gun, and then -“

“ _Sorry_.”

Fujiko blinked. “What?”

“If that doesn’t work, I mean, and they ...” 

“You’re not going to die, Jigen. Lupin won’t let you.”

“Yeah well ... he’s not here.” Jigen took in a wheezing breath.

“Then _**I** _won’t let you.”

“Look, I can’t ... take back the things I’ve said about you, but -“

“Oh, no. Don’t start with that last heroic words, bullshit. You're not going to die. He must’ve hit your head harder than I thought to make you actually be nice to me.” Fujiko huffed, but would be lying if she said she was disappointed he stopped talking. Her plan was shaky at best. What if it didn’t work? What if Lupin and Goemon didn’t come? Or if they did, what if it was too late for Jigen, or for her? Would she regret having unsaid words with the gunman?

“Look,” Fujiko sighed, tilting her head up. “If I were you, I’d probably hate me too.” 

There were long, labored breathes from the beaten man behind her before she heard him speak. “I don’t ... I don’t hate you.”

  
“Oh, please.” Fujiko let out a sarcastic laugh. “It’s not just the betrayal thing that gets you mad. I know how you feel about Lupin and I … come back anyway.” Jigen let out a breath behind her before she continued. “You can’t hide that from me, Jigen. He may be oblivious, but _I’m_ not. It’s obvious how you feel about him, and you’re mad that I … feel slightly the same way.”

“That’s not the problem.” Jigen answered in a shaking voice, and for a moment Fujiko worried that he was crying.

“Then what is the problem? If it’s not me and it’s not what I do, then …” She turned her head, trying to see the other. 

Jigen didn’t respond for a while, his breathing was still rough, but it was starting to worry Fujiko with how shallow it began to sound. “Jigen?” She asked. “You didn’t die on me, did you?”

“ _He fell in love with you_.” Came Jigen’s answer. He sounded broken and hurt, as if he wasn’t just telling her this, but he was finally admitting it to himself. “From the moment he saw you. I thought it was always gonna be us two, but …” 

“Oh.” Fujiko leaned back in her chair. So that was it. It was true, Jigen had been with Lupin longer than any of them had. Then she came into the picture, and then Goemon soon after. Perhaps it was a little selfish of Jigen to want the gentleman thief all to himself, but then again, they all were a little selfish, weren’t they? “Well, I’m glad you told me?”

“Yeah. Sure thing.” 

And the silence filled the air again.

Fujiko tapped her heels to the carpet, thinking for a moment before deciding to change the subject.

“Hey, can I ask you something?”

“Shoot for it.”

“Why do you like that hat so much?” She asked him genuinely. “It’s always something I’ve wondered. And it’s not like you’re ugly without it off so it can’t be that.” 

“Aw, you think I’m pretty?” Jigen snickered before thinking out his answer. He shrugged before speaking up again. “My Ma gave it to me.”

“You’re _**mom?!”**_ Fujiko gasped-laughed out the word. “No way. Daisuke Jigen, were you a _mama’s boy?!_ ”

“Oh, don’t start, _please_.” Jigen laughed, matching her teasing tone.

“Wait, if you loved your mom why do you hate women so much?” She asked teasingly.

“Hey, my Ma was nice to me, alright.” The man sat up a bit more straight, coughing a bit before he continued. “It’s not my fault every other woman I’ve met is terrible to me.”

“Aaaaw, poor Jigen.” Fujiko teased. And the two shared a small, genuine laugh.

The door on the other end of the room unlocked and their voices were quickly silenced once again.

“Fujiko.” Jigen wheezed. “Whatever happens, don’t you _dare_ tell Lupin what I said.”

The man entered before she could respond, and the guard took no time in walking around to Jigen again.

“Alright! Round two!” Jigen jokingly slurred through his words as he was dragged back in front of Fujiko. “Be gentle with me, hot shot, I’m a sensitive man.”

“Ms. Mine?” The boss walked over to her side, giving her an annoyed smile. “Have you thought about answering?”

“I have.” Fujiko nodded. “In the words of my friend, _I ain’t telling you shit_.” Which she said in the most lady like, proper way of speaking she could muster.

“Fine. Kill him.” 

Jigen was sent to the floor again as the guard landed a hit on his face. Blood flew out of his nose and mouth as he gasped for air. Fujiko tried to look away again, but the boss grabbed her face with his hands and forcefully turned her head towards the scene.

“I hope you realize this will happen to you next.” Said the boss, pinching her chin roughly with his fingers. 

Fujiko was forced to watched as Jigen was beat repeatedly in the face. He had stopped laughing, he had stopped trying to push himself up, and it was all happening so fast that Fujiko was afraid he might have stopped breathing.

“ _ALRIGHT STOP!_ ” Fujiko ripped her face out of the boss’ hands. “Stop it! That’s enough!” The goon stopped, leaving Jigen hanging from his collar in his hand. “I cannot believe this is such a big deal for you. It was just money. But men have such fragile reputations, don’t they? I’ll tell you where it is, if you would just stop.”

“Glad to see you finally come to your senses.” The boss moved so he was standing in front of Fujiko. “Now, where –“

Before he could finish, the door slammed open once more. Two figures silhouetted by the light of the hallway burst into the room without so much of an introduction. One rushed over to her and with a slash of metal, the ties around her ankles and wrists were cut loose. Fujiko wasted no time in shooting up and bringing her heel up to kick the mob boss square in the throat, sending him to the floor.

The other figure had shot the guard in the hand before the goon could grab his gun and was now giggling like a jester above the writhing man.

“No one takes my friends and gets away with it. You should’ve just taken the loss like a man.” Lupin stated placing a hand on his hip.

Lupin and Goemon had found them! Thank goodness. But Fujiko didn’t waste time with dramatics or running over to kiss Lupin, instead, she rushed over to Jigen’s side with a concerned expression.

“Jigen? Hey, Jigen?” She grabbed his shoulders, pulling his face off the floor and wincing at the trails of blood stringing from his face. She felt Lupin kneel down beside her and she gave him a concerned expression.

“ ** _Jesus_**.” Came the soft, tired whisper from the gunman. “ _Told you … not to … say anything_.”

“I bought you time to live, jackass.” Fujiko huffed.

“Damn, Jigen. What did they do to you?” Lupin said this under his breath, but Fujiko heard him. The two of them exchanged a worried glance.

“ _Fine … I’m fine._ ” Jigen said breathlessly.

“No, you’re not. C’mon. We gotta get back. I’ll carry him.” Fujiko quickly got to Jigen’s other side, ignoring the confused look Lupin gave her. “What? I’ve carried you before, haven’t I? And Jigen is much lighter than you.” With a grunt, the woman lifted the limp man into her arms.

“Uuh, right. Goemon! Let’s clear them a path to the car!” Lupin turned his face back into a smile as they ran out of the room. With him and Goemon leading the charge, it didn’t take too long to push through the homes security and get back to the fiat. 

The gang piled in, Fujiko put herself and Jigen into the back seat so she could lay the man out with his head on her lap. As Goemon got on top of the car and Lupin took the front seat, she grabbed the first aid kit from under the seats and quickly went to work trying to pat down the man’s bloodied face. 

The woman lifted his hat up a little, but only enough to push it further back on his head so she could apply pressure to his split eyebrows. Jigen groaned, scrunching up his eyes in pain as Lupin sped through the streets. He opened one eye to look at her, and she did her best to give him a smile. He mumbled something, making her tilt her head.

“’ _ruined your dress._ ” He said again, a bit more clearly.

“Don’t worry about my dress. Worry about your suit.” She told him with a teasing tone. 

“Eh, we can get it dry-cleaned. It’s not the first time Jigen’s gotten the shit kicked out of him.” Lupin called from the front seat.

 _“Shut the … hell up, asshole_.” Jigen’s grunt was only met with laughter from the thief. The gunman looked back up at Fujiko, and she could practically see all the thoughts running through his head. “ _Not a word._ ” He told her.

Fujiko gave Jigen a genuine smile, nodding her head. “Not a word.”

**Author's Note:**

> Another Lupin fic! This time from Fujiko's perspective, which I've never written before so I hope I did alright. That woman is a mystery. Anyway, I watch watching SU with a friend & got inspired by some of the dialogue. 
> 
> Anyhoo, I like parts of Lupin where Jigen & Fujiko actually get along, so I wanted to write them being a little bit vulnerable around each other. Hope you like it!


End file.
